


Met A Boy (Cute As Can Be)

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2019 [56]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, First Kiss, First Meetings, Friendship, Holding Hands, M/M, Prompt Fill, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-18 21:03:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20319466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for 100 Words on Dating prompt:Stargate Multiverse, any m/mSummer flingDon't mean a thingBut oh, ohThe summer nights(John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John)In which John and Rodney meet during summer vacation in 1985 and become closer than friends.





	Met A Boy (Cute As Can Be)

**Author's Note:**

> Also written for Whatif_AU: Decade-Specific

**Summer, 1985**

They meet in the little movie theater off Crane Street. 

It’s John’s fourth time seeing _Back to the Future_, and he thinks he’ll probably see it a few more times before the summer is over. He feels confident asserting to anyone who’ll listen that it’s the best movie ever, narrowly edging out _Return of the Jedi_ and _Ghostbusters_.

He couldn’t get any of his friends to come with him – “Ugh, not again. We’re going to the beach.” – but that’s okay. He has popcorn and Goobers, and the first showing of the day means the theater is mostly empty so he can put his feet up on the seat in front of him.

“This is stupid.”

John frowns but doesn’t turn around to see what jerk is complaining about his favorite movie.

“Oh, sure. Terrorists are just rolling down Main Street USA with rocket launchers. Give me a break.”

John hunches his shoulders, scowling.

“1.21 gigawatts? Like that’s enough power to open a wormhole and propel a car through it. Didn’t anyone consult an actual scientist?”

John turns in his seat and throws a handful of popcorn at the kid sitting one row back and a few seats down. “Do you mind?”

“Do you?” the kid snaps back at him. He brushes the popcorn off his Monty Python t-shirt. His hair is arranged in a weird New Wave style that hangs over one eye.

“If you don’t like the movie, the door is over there.” John points.

“They got the science all wrong, you know.”

“Not watching it for the science, dipshit.” John turns back around, confident that he’s diffused the situation.

A minute later, the kid climbs over from his row and drops down in the seat next to John. “Don’t you care that they got it wrong?”

“Who are you? Mr. Wizard? Go do something else if the movie bothers you so much.”

“There’s nothing to do in this stupid town,” the kid grumbles, crossing his arms.

“Are you kidding me? There’s a ton of cool stuff to do around here!”

The kid doesn’t look convinced. In fact, he looks pretty miserable. It’s probably his first time on the Island, unlike John whose family spends the summer there every year. John decides to take pity on him. After all, a guy who likes Monty Python can’t be all bad.

“Listen. If you can keep your mouth shut for the rest of the movie, I’ll show you around after.”

“Fine.”

John settles back in to watch the rest of Marty McFly’s adventures and, after a moment’s hesitation, offers the kid some of his popcorn. John can tell when the kid disagrees with whatever is happening on screen because he grumbles under his breath and makes little snorting noises of disbelief. It’s actually kind of funny.

True to his word, as soon as the movie is over John and the kid – “Mer...I mean, Rodney. Rodney McKay.” – hit the town. They play a round of golf at the Mini Putt (John thinks he does a pretty good imitation of Bill Murray in _Caddyshack_), play Pac Man and Galaga at Noah’s Arcade (Rodney is crazy good at video games), and meet back up with John’s friends for a beachside barbecue as the sun starts to set.

“Thanks,” Rodney says when it’s time to go home. “I had fun.”

He’s not such a bad guy to hang around with. He can be really funny, he has a sarcastic sense of humor, he’s super smart, and he has really nice eyes. John worries he might be developing a crush on Rodney. John has known he’s gay for a while, though he’s good at hiding it because his father would flip out, but he wouldn’t have the first idea how to approach another guy the way he would a girl.

So he takes Rodney back to his aunt’s house – “My parents are working on their marriage or something, that’s why they sent me out here in the middle of nowhere.” – and they make plans to hang out the following day.

They spend almost every day together for the rest of the summer. John tries to teach Rodney to surf, with hilarious results, and Rodney shows John how to build the best kite in the world, which they fly around on Kenna’s Bluff for an entire afternoon. They get ice cream at the Dairy Freeze and pizza at Gino’s.

A lot of their time is spent at the movie theater, sharing popcorn and critiquing all the new movies as they come out. _Explorers_, they agree, is good up till the part with the aliens and then it gets too campy. _Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome_ is badass. _Real Genius_ gets Rodney excitedly talking about college, and neither one of them can stop quoting the Pee-Wee Herman movie.

At night, alone in his room, John thinks of Rodney’s crooked mouth and the times their hands brushed together reaching for popcorn and how happy Rodney looked when he realized John was a secret math nerd. Puppy love, John’s mother might’ve said if he’d felt comfortable enough to confide in her.

All too soon summer winds down and John’s mother starts packing up the cottage. John isn’t looking forward to getting back to the strict regimen his father keeps them on. And he really doesn’t want to say goodbye to Rodney.

Fitting, then, that they spend their last day together seeing _Better Off Dead_, which is about a guy in love with the wrong girl. John can relate. No-one would understand how he feels about Rodney. He won’t be able to go back to school and brag about his summer conquests (not that he ever had any of those).

Rodney seems subdued. Probably because he has to go home, too, and from what little he says about his family John can tell it’s not a great place to be. 

John reaches into the popcorn bucket the same time as Rodney and their hands bump together. Only this time, instead of just pulling his hand out, Rodney tentatively slides his fingers between John’s. It should be gross, with the butter and the way Rodney’s been licking his fingers, but it’s not.

John squeezes Rodney’s hand, very carefully not looking at him. Up on the screen, the French exchange student – obviously the _right_ girl – is throwing grapefruit at a street sign and cursing in French. John can barely breathe.

Rodney shifts in his seat and lays his head on John’s shoulder, and John is thankful for the cover of darkness because his eyes inexplicably fill with tears. He wishes he’d been bolder; wishes they had more time to explore this new development.

After the movie – John missed the finer points because he was so focused on Rodney’s hand in his, and Rodney’s huffed out laughs as John Cusack did something ridiculous on screen – they go to the bluff and just sit there together, hidden from view by the big boulder people like to spray paint their names on.

“This was the best summer of my life,” Rodney says. He and John are still holding hands.

“Mine too.”

“It’s probably a good thing I’m going home tomorrow.”

John glances over at Rodney. “Really?”

“There’s no future for us,” Rodney says with a sigh. “You don’t wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I’m a loner, John. A rebel.”

John snorts, and then suddenly both of them are laughing their asses off. He doesn’t know how laughing turns to kissing, but it does. It’s a bittersweet sendoff.

John sneaks one last kiss when he walks Rodney home, and then he has to pack. They don’t exchange numbers. What would John say if he called? Best to have memories of a great summer and leave it at that.

He never forgets it.

**Author's Note:**

> **AN:** What else could I do with this prompt but a summer romance? ::grins:: I chose 1985 because it was an excellent summer for movies, and also because canonically John and Rodney would be teenagers. One more year and John would absolutely change his mind about his favorite movie, because _Top Gun_ came out in 1986. LOL!
> 
> Rodney’s last bit of dialogue, which makes John laugh, is a line from _Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure_, which is yet another movie I love.


End file.
